


A Project or More

by Serpents_of_Fire_and_Fog



Category: Mean Girls - Richmond/Benjamin/Fey
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Mostly fluff though, Post-Canon, Rejanis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:28:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27826057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serpents_of_Fire_and_Fog/pseuds/Serpents_of_Fire_and_Fog
Summary: This is a one shot based loosely on the song “Little Miss Perfect” by Joriah Kwame. This is also my first Rejanis fic, so be warned.Regina and Janis spend some quality time together working on a school project.
Relationships: Regina George/Janis Sarkisian
Comments: 8
Kudos: 26
Collections: 2020 AW Gift Exchange





	A Project or More

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WiseGirlEverdeen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WiseGirlEverdeen/gifts).



> I really hope you enjoy this, Wise! You’re an amazing friend and a wonderful writer. I hope you have a safe and happy holiday season (:

It was an early Wednesday morning, barely six o'clock. The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon and shine through the curtains into Regina George's bedroom. She sighed, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. She threw back her bedsheets and sat up, shivering. Glancing out the window she realized the ground outside had been dusted in snow. She stretched and yawned, then made her way towards the bathroom to get ready. 

A half an hour later, Regina stood before herself in the mirror. She watched her reflection as she slowly released a curl from the iron in her hand. She smiled, setting the hot mettle down and unplugging it from the wall. She ran her fingers through the curls to loosen them slightly. Glancing at herself once more in the mirror, she turned and left the bathroom, flicking off the light switch as she went. 

Walking over to her desk in the corner of the room, she placed her finished homework inside her backpack and zipped it tight. She glanced at the clock before hurrying down stairs to grab a piece of toast and rush to pick up Gretchen and Karen. She pulled on a pair of shoes and her coat, then kissed her mom goodbye before dashing out of the house and into her car. 

The ride to school was short and uneventful. Her eyes stayed focused entirely on the slightly icy road, vaguely aware of her friends conversing around her. Gretchen sat in the passenger's seat, rambling on about something Regina did her best to pay attention to, and Karen sat in the back, jumping in to add bits to the conversation when needed. It was a routine they had fallen into almost immediately after they had returned to school. The summer had been long, and it had left her with an incredible amount of back pain. Her one goal had been to try and rebuild the relationships she had spent so long ruining. It had taken time, but eventually she had started to earn back lost trust. 

As she pulled into the parking lot, the same space as she had for years, she reveled in the monotony of it all. There was just something so calming about knowing exactly where and how she fit in. She thought back on years of being terrified of losing her standing; All the years of doing everything and anything to retain her grasp on the school. The simplicity of the here and now made her happier than any of that popularity ever had. 

As she and her friends made their ways through the hallways, Regina did her best to appeal to the eyes around her. Each pair was a vulture ready to tear her to messy shreds. Never before had she put so much thought into her outward image. She simply was what she was and the student body had to take it. Now, she had to mold herself to fit the demanding standards of those around her. One slip and she would fall back into drowning pools of drama. Desperate to keep that far at bay, she held her eyes up and her shoulders straight. All she had to do was make it through each day without hurting those around her, and all would be well.

It did not take Regina long to get to her homeroom class. She stopped briefly at her locker to grab her books and waved at a few friends in the hallway, but other than that the walk was uneventful. She chose the seat closest to the door and as soon as the bell rang, she was off to her first class of the day. 

Regina had long since memorized her schedule; She found it was much easier to appear well put together when you at least knew where you were going. Making her way through the crowded halls once more, Regina turned in the direction of the Language Arts hallways. The class was her favorite part of the day. Not because she particularly enjoyed the class itself, but because it was one of the few classes she had with Janis. The two had spent a long time over the past few months doing their best to reconstruct the old friendship. It had been hard at first. Neither had been fully willing to cooperate. But now the two were able to have civil conversations without tearing out the other's throat. 

The classroom was mostly quiet when she entered. Her fellow classmates were barely awake and only a slight murmur occupied the usually rowdy students. That was another thing she enjoyed about the class: It was early enough that nobody felt like being unnecessarily loud. 

Regina scanned the room for an empty seat. Near the back of the class, she saw Janis with her eyes trained on her sketchbook. Regina's heart gave a flutter and a small smile crept onto her face. She quickened her pace and navigated through the rows of desks, doing her best not to run into one of them. She slid into the seat next to her friend right as the bell rang and their teacher walked into the classroom. Janis glanced up at her briefly and offered her own smile before turning back to her work. Regina directed her gaze to the front of the classroom. 

The class was no different than usual. Their teacher spent the first half hour or so going over the lesson while Regina occasionally stole glances at Janis. It was not as if she needed the information being taught; She had always found English a bit redundant. She did her work without bringing too much attention to herself, not raising her hand or speaking up. She could afford to be slightly distracted by other matters. 

Regina was nearly finished with her assignment when the teacher once again directed the class's attention to the front of the room. 

"On top of your usual homework assignments, this week you will have an extra group project to do for homework," they said. As they continued to talk they handed each student what Regina observed to be a writing prompt. "This will be your final assignment for the semester so I’d advise you all to do your best. I will give each of you a partner; Someone I think you will be willing to work with outside of school hours. Together you will be writing a short story about a character, or group of characters, that must overcome some sort of internal conflict. Pay attention to the grading rubric..." 

Regina was no longer listening to her teacher. Instead she was thinking about the likelihood of her being paired with Janis. On one hand, there were nearly 20 other students in the class. On the other, the teacher did say they would be pairing everyone with someone they thought would be able to work well with. A wave of nerves washes over her as she thinks about the possibilities. However she must have shown some sort of reaction, because Janis reached over and gently placed her hand on Regina's forearm. She raised her eyebrows as if to ask if Regina was okay. Regina simply nodded, her nerves melting away. She quickly turned her gaze back to the front of the room, hoping to hide the blush rising to her cheeks. As if on cue, their teacher began reading out the list of assigned partners. 

Regina sat forwards in her seat slightly. She hung onto every single word the teacher said, not daring to miss either girl's name be called. After what felt like ages, she finally heard the teacher say Janis’s name. 

"Janis Sarkisian and Regina George," the teacher said. Regina momentarily felt a pang of disappointment before she realized that she was, in fact, Regina George. 

Regina turned her head towards the seat next to her. Their eyes met and Janis simply lent her a small smile. The blonde's heart once again fluttered and she turned back to the front of the classroom once more. After class, neither girl had much time to spare so they decided on working out the details of the project during lunch. 

Regina spent the rest of the day inexplicably happy. The smile spread across her face seemed slightly more genuine than usual, and some of her friends must have noticed. During gym Karen had asked her if she was feeling alright, and Gretchen had been directing some slightly concerned looks in her direction. This may have had something to do with the fact that generally Regina was less welcoming of the cold weather, but she brushed them off, saying she was just happy about a good test score (something that caused Cady to tilt her head a bit because Regina was generally a good student). The smile remained on her face until just before lunch, when she reminded herself that she and Janis would be discussing the project so she at least needed to be subtle. 

As soon as she was dismissed from her class, she sped to the cafeteria. Despite being much faster than normal, some tables had already started to fill up, and her friends had already claimed their usual table. Cady and Gretchen were in a deep conversation, and Karen and Damian were walking over as Regina thought to herself. Janis still had yet to make an appearance. For some unexplained reason it made Regina nervous, but she brushed it off and joined her friends at the table. 

A few minutes later Janis slid onto the bench across the table from Janis, lunch tray in hand. They exchanged smiles and began discussing how to go about their project. 

"It may be easiest to do it over the phone on a shared Google Doc," Regina suggested, though she was slightly disappointed she may not get to spend as much time in person with Janis. However, before she could think about that for too long, the girl simply shook her head.

"I think I'd focus better if we did this in person. We could meet up at my house after school today and work on it for a couple hours. Assuming you don't already have plans, that is," said Janis. She glanced over at the rest of the group before returning her gaze to Regina. The blonde just shook her head.

"That works for me!" she said, watching a smile come across Janis's face before spreading to her own. They worked out a time and some other minor details with their remaining lunch period. As they parted from each other after lunch, Regina could not help but feel a rush of excitement. The rest of the day went by in a dizzying blur, both going to slow and too fast all at once. By the time she was back in her car driving her friends home, her head was spinning. 

When she got home she looked for her mother. It did not take long, she was sitting at the kitchen table helping her younger sister with her homework. Regina quickly took a snack from the pantry before sitting across from her mom. 

"Do you mind if I go over to Janis's house later to work on a school project," asked Regina. Her mom seemed to think about it for a moment before giving a nod. She reminded her daughter to watch the time and be aware of the weather. Regina smiled and gave her mom a hug before running up to her room. 

It was not long before Regina was back in her car driving towards the Sarkisian residence. She hummed along to the radio (which had consisted of mostly Christmas songs since late October) in an attempt to calm her nerves. She drove on roads she knew well through a neighborhood where she had spent a large portion of her childhood. Regina and Janis were friends for a long time, but she had brought the end of it. In all her foolishness she had decided to project her own insecurities onto someone she deeply cared about. It was something she had to live with and would regret everyday for the rest of her life. 

Regina shook her head, clearing her thoughts as she pulled into Janis's driveway. She took a deep breath and gathered her bearings before stepping out of the car. Her pace was quick as she made her way to the front door and rang the bell. Barely a moment passed and Janis had opened it. She smirked and opened the door wider to let her in, mock bowing as she did so. Regina repressed a laugh.

The two girls went up into Janis's room where they knew it would be quiet and (mostly) distraction free. Janis flopped onto her bed dramatically and Regina stood awkwardly for a moment before taking a seat at her friend's desk. She pulled out her own notebook and turned to a clean page, titling it as "Creative Writing Assignment Project Planning Page." After she had done that, she lifted her gaze to where Janis was still laying. 

"We should probably get this done sooner rather than later. It's due Friday and we both have homework for other classes," said Regina. She tapped her pen against the page, listening to Janis sigh and sit up. She pulled her legs into a criss cross position and stared into the blonde's eyes. Regina quickly tore her own eyes away and cleared her throat. She proceeded to ask Janis what the basic outline for their story should be. They spent some time bouncing idea's back and forth off of each other. Their teacher's constraint of the conflict needing to be an internal one frustrated Regina to no end. Sure, she had plenty of ideas, but none of them seemed to hold up against any of her own critical thoughts. 

"What if we write about a character who has internal conflict over writing about internal conflict?," suggested Janis. Regina snickered but shook her head. 

"I don't think that would go over well," she said. 

Eventually the two girls agreed on a basic plot line. Their story would follow a girl who was struggling to tell a close friend that she had feelings for someone. They did not yet know how they would end their story, only that Regina wanted the ending to be something grand. The two girls began working, typing on a shared document from their own laptops. On occasion the two would exchange warm looks before directing their eyes back to their screens. 

The minutes turned into hours and soon Regina had taken her place beside Janis on her bed. They sat hip to hip with their backs up against the wall, a shared blanket wrapped around their shoulders, continuing to work. They had gotten briefly sidetracked before as it had started snowing again, but now they were back on task and working quickly to the end of the assignment. When they reached their character's point of confession, Janis sat back and let out a deep breath. Regina looked over at her quizzically.

"Even if we finish today, we should still meet up again tomorrow to edit and add foreshadowing. It only makes sense since she's confessing her love," said Janis, though she sounded exhausted

Regina nodded along, not moving her eyes from her screen, pretending to be invested in her work. Janis let out a small sigh. 

"Regina, would you be interested in hearing an idea I had for the ending?," she asked. 

"Mhmm," Regina responded, still staring at her screen.

"What if," Janis hesitated for a moment, "our protagonist confesses her love to.. Her friend."

Regina's eyes snapped up from her computer, her heart pounding. Had she been that obvious? She tried to search for the right words, but they just weren't there. Staring into Janis's soft brown eyes she saw something she had not in a long time: fear. 

"Never mind," Janis said, quickly. 

"No- No it's perfectly fine," said Regina, "Let's work on it then." 

The two girls continued to work tirelessly, keeping a careful eye on the time. Eventually Janis's laptop died so both girl's worked on Regina's. The ending seemed to be the hardest part to write. Regina was careful when she offered her suggestions, trying to balance on the fine line between writing a story and revealing her own feelings. Sure their plot choice was stereotypical, but it was easy to write and just as easily enjoyable for a reader. 

Janis requested the honors of finishing the story, so Regina sat back slightly and allowed for Janis to lean over her and type the final words. The two girls sat back, admiring their handiwork. It had taken them almost four hours (including all the goofing off they did) but they had completed their rough draft. Regina slowly closed her laptop, allowing for a smile to spread across her face. When she looked up she saw Janis mirroring her expression. Regina saw the sparkle in her eye and looked away quickly, bending to down put her computer in her backpack and hide her blush. 

When she stood back up, she decided she was going to tell Janis she liked her. She did not know how she decided or when in that short 30 seconds it had come to her, but she was going to do it. She took a deep breath and called out for her friend.

"Janis?," she asked quietly. 

The girl looked up at her from the homework assignment she had started. "Yeah?" 

After taking one final moment to build up her courage, she spit it out, "I really like you." Janis just looked at her, blinking slowly. "As in.. More than a friend."

Janis stared at her for a moment longer, trying to process her friend's words. Slowly the corners of her lips lifted into a smirk. "I like you too." 

Regina was overwhelmed with emotion. She had no idea how long she had been burying her feelings for Janis. But now that she had at least somewhat expressed what she was feeling, she felt so relieved to have them out in the open. The two girl's stood stood staring at each other in silence, neither girl sure how to react. After a few more seconds, Janis finally decided to speak up. 

"May I kiss you?," she asked. 

Regina nodded quickly, and both girls walked quickly across the room, meeting in the center. Janis took Regina's face gently in her hands, softly placing a kiss on the girl's lips. Regina returned the gesture, reaching her hands up and tangling them in Janis's long, blonde and brunette hair. The world seemed to have gone both still and been spinning at the same time. Regina’s heart pounded and joy flooded her veins. But a few short seconds later, she pulled away. 

No, she thought to herself. 

There were so many reasons why she should not do this. She knew the way kids in their school were. The ways they had spent so many years torturing Janis in the hallways and in class. Things had just begun to lessen. She could not make things worse for the girl now. On top of that, it was their senior year. Forming any romantic bonds now before leaving for college would not be the wisest of choices.

Regina quickly grabbed her bag, muttering a quick, “I should go,” before rushing out of her friends room towards her car. She was oblivious to the heavy snow falling from the sky. Somewhere behind her she could hear Janis’s frantic footsteps, desperate to keep up. She reached the driveway, her boot-heels sinking slightly into the ground and echoing in her ears. Her friend called her name, but she ignored her. When she reached her car she fumbled with her backpack, trying to pull out her keys, but Janis had already caught up. 

“Regina, what’s wrong,” worry flooded the girl’s voice, “Was it something I said?” 

Regina sighed, knowing she would not be able to avoid this forever (they would still have to edit their project before the end of the week). After giving herself a moment to steady her breathing, she looked up and met Janis’s eyes. 

“I don’t want to hurt you again,” Regina said, her voice quiet. Never before had she allowed herself to show any weakness, she never took down the walls she built to distance herself from any emotions. But there was something about the girl in front of her that made things different. Ever since Janis had come back into her life, she had become more conscious of the things she said and did. Maybe it was just everything that had happened with the bus, but Regina was not so sure. 

“Regina, I know this will sound cliche, but you’ve changed! I know you would never do anything to purposely hurt me again.” Janis said. 

Regina did not respond. There were still so many other things she could not let go of. “What about people at school? They’ve never changed, and I couldn’t forgive myself if they-,” Janis cut her off. 

“You know that’s never bothered me. And who said we had to tell anyone? If that’s not what you want, I can respect it.” Janis said.

Slowly, Regina started to nod. That nod turned into a smile. It was then that she realized that she had been avoiding meeting Janis’s eyes. When she finally looked up, the girl had a dorky smile on her face. Her eyes were warm, and her face showed nothing but understanding. Slowly, Regina walked forward, feet crunching in the snow, and wrapped her arms around the girl who had always meant more to her than either party actually knew. Janis returned the hug, smiling into Regina’s hair. 

When the girl’s pulled apart they both still had grins plastered to their faces. Regina looked up, finally acknowledging the fact that the snow had gotten heavier and neither girl had put on a coat. The blonde looked out at the icy roads with a sigh. 

“You know,” Janis spoke and Regina turned back to face her, “You really shouldn’t be driving in the snow.” The taller girl smirked and Regina’s smile, if at all possible, widened. 

Regina sent a quick text to her mom, asking permission to spend the night with her friend due to the unforeseen circumstances. Her mom, of course, said yes and the two girls walked back into Janis’s house, hand in hand.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if there are any mistakes!!


End file.
